This blog is a humble effort, in the service of the Lord, to provide glimpses into devotional, spiritual, philosophical, ethical and other literature, mostly in Sanskrit verse, right from the Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, the Epics and Puranas to works of classical poets, hymns and other writings of Acharyas like Sankara and Vedanta Desika and compositions of devotees like Jayadeva, Mooka Kavi, Bhattathiri and Lila Suka.

Sri Saunaka said: although He is unborn, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead took birth as
Kapila Muni by His internal potency. He
descended to disseminate transcendental
knowledge for the benefit of he whole human race.

न ह्यस्य वर्ष्मणःपुंसां वरिम्णः सर्वयोगिनाम्।

विश्रुतौ श्रुतदेवस्य भूरि तृप्यन्ति मेऽसवः ॥२॥

Sri Saunaka continued: There is no one who knows more than the Lord
Himself. No one is more worshipable or
more mature a yogi then He. He is
therefore the master of the Vedas, and to hear about Him always is the actual
pleasure of the senses.

यद्यद्विधत्ते भगवान् स्वच्छन्दात्माऽऽत्ममायया।

तानि मे श्रद्दधानस्य कीर्तन्यान्यनुकीर्तय ॥३॥

Therefore please precisely describe to me, who is listening intently, all the
activities and pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is full of
self-desire and who assumes all these activities by His internal potency.

सूत उवाच
–

द्वैपायनसखस्त्वेवं मैत्रेयो भगवांस्तथा।

प्राहेदं विदुरं प्रीत आन्वीक्षिक्यां प्रचोदितः ॥४॥

Sri Suta Goswami said: The most powerful sage
Maitreya was a friend of Vyasadeva.
Being encouraged and pleased by Vidura’s inquiry about transcendental
knowledge, Maitreya spoke as follows.

मैत्रेय उवाच–

पितरि प्रस्थितेऽरण्यं मातुः प्रियचिकीर्षया।

तस्मिन् बिन्दुसरेऽवात्सीद्भगवान् कपिलः किल॥५॥

Maitreya said: When Kardama left for the forest, Lord
kapila stayed on the strand of the Bindu-sarovara to please His mother,
Devahuti.

तमासीनमकर्माणं तत्त्वमार्गप्रदर्शनम्।

स्वसुतं देवहूत्याह धातुः संस्मरती वचः॥६॥

When Kapila, who could
show her the ultimate goal of the Absolute Truth, was sitting leisurely before
her, Devahuti remembered the words Brahma had spoken to her, and she therefore
began to question Kapila as follows.

देवहूतिरुवाच–

निर्विण्णा नितरां भूमन्नसदिन्द्रियतर्षणात्।

येन सम्भाव्यमानेन प्रपन्नान्धं तमः प्रभो ॥७॥

Devahuti said: I am very
sick of the disturbance caused by my material senses, for because of this sense
disturbance, my Lord, I have fallen into the abyss of ignorance.

तस्य त्वं तमसोऽन्धस्यदुष्पारस्याद्य पारगम्।

सच्चक्षुर्जन्मनामन्ते लब्धं मे त्वदनुग्रहात् ॥८॥

Your Lordship is my only
means of getting out of this darkest region of ignorance because You are my
transcendental eye, which, by Your mercy only, I have attained after many, many
births.

य आद्यो भगवान् पुंसामीश्वरो वै भवान्
किल।

लोकस्य तमसान्धस्य चक्षुः सूर्य इवोदितः ॥९॥

You are the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the origin and Supreme Lord of all living
entities. You have arisen to disseminate
the rays of the sun in order to dissipate the darkness of the ignorance of the
universe.

अथ मे देव सम्मोहमपाक्रष्टुं त्वमर्हसि।

योऽवग्रहोऽहंममेतित्येतस्मिन् योजितस्त्वया॥१०॥

Now be pleased, my Lord,
to dispel my great delusion. Due to my
feeling of false ego, I have been engaged by Your maya and have identified
myself with the body and consequent bodily relations.

तं त्वा गताहं शरणं शरण्यं

स्वभृत्यसंसारतरोः कुठारम्।

जिज्ञासयाहं प्रकृतेः पूरुषस्य

नमामि सद्धर्मविदां वरिष्ठम् ॥११॥

Devahuti continued: I
have taken shelter of Your lotus feet because You are the only person of whom
to take shelter. You are the exe which
can cut the tree of material existence.
I therefore offer my obeisances unto You, who are the greatest of all
transcendentalists, and I inquire from You as to the relationship between man
and woman and between spirit and matter.

मैत्रेय उवाच–

इति स्वमातुर्निरवद्यमीप्सितं

निशम्य पुंसामपवर्गवर्धनम्।

धियाभिनन्द्यात्मवतां सतां गति–

र्बभाष ईषत्स्मितशोभिताननः ॥१२॥

Maitreya said: After hearing of His mother’s uncontaminated
desire for transcendental realization, the Lord thanked her within Himself for
her questions, and thus, His face smiling, He explained the path of the
transcendentalists, who are interested in self-realization.

श्रीभगवानुवाच–

योग आध्यात्मिकः पुंसां मतो निःश्रेयसाय मे।

अत्यन्तोपरतिर्यत्र दुःखस्य च सुखस्य च ॥१३॥

The Supreme Personality
of Godhead answered : The yoga system
which relates to the Lord and the individual soul, which is meant for the
ultimate benefit of the living entity, and which causes detachment from all happiness
and distress in the material world, is the highest yoga system.

तमिमं ते प्रवक्ष्यामि यमवोचं पुरानघे।

ऋषीणां श्रोतुकामानां योगं सर्वाङ्गनैपुणम्॥१४॥

O most pious mother, I
shall now explain unto you the ancient yoga system, which I explained formerly
to the great sages who were eager to hear it.
It is serviceable and practical in every way.

चेतः खल्वस्य बन्धाय मुक्तये चात्मनो मतम्।

गुणेषु सक्तं बन्धाय रतं वा पुंसि मुक्तये ॥१५॥

The stage in which the
consciousness of the living entity is attracted by the three modes of material
nature is called conditional life. But when that same consciousness is attached
to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is situated in the consciousness of
liberation.

अहंममाभिमानोत्थैः कामलोभादिभिर्मलैः।

वीतं यदा मनः शुद्धमदुःखमसुखं समम्॥१६॥

तदा पुरुष आत्मानं केवलं प्रकृतेः परम्।

निरन्तरं स्वयंज्योतिरणिमानमखण्डितम्॥१७॥

ज्ञानवैराग्ययुक्तेन भक्तियुक्तेन चात्मना।

परिपश्यत्युदासीनं प्रकृतिं च हतौजसम् ॥१८॥

When one is completely
cleansed of the impurities of lust and greed produced from the false
identification of the body as “I” and bodily possessions as “mine”, one’s mind
becomes purified. In that pure state he
transcends the stage of so-called material happiness and distress. At that time the soul can see himself to be
transcendental to material existence and always self-effulgent, never
fragmented, although very minute in size. In that position of self-realization,
by practice of knowledge and renunciation in devotional service, one sees
everything in the right perspective; he becomes indifferent to material existence,
and the material influence acts less powerfully upon him.

न युज्यमानया भक्त्या भगवत्यखिलात्मनि।

सदृशोऽस्ति शिवः पन्था योगिनां ब्रह्मसिद्धये ॥१९॥

Perfection in self-realization cannot be attained by
any kind of yogi unless he engages in devotional service to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, for that is the only auspicious path.

प्रसङ्गमजरं पाशमात्मनः कवयो विदुः।

स एव साधुषु कृतो मोक्षद्वारमपावृतम् ॥२०॥

Every learned man knows very well that attachment for
the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment , when applied to
the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation.

तितिक्षवः कारुणिकाः सुहृदः सर्वदेहिनां।

अजातशत्रवः शान्ताः साधवः साधुभूषणाः ॥२१॥

The symptoms of a sadhu
are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his
characteristics are sublime.

मय्यनन्येन भावेन भक्तिं कुर्वन्ति ये दृढाम्।

मत्कृते त्यक्तकर्माणस्त्यक्तस्वजनबान्धवाः॥२२॥

मदाश्रयाः कथा मृष्टाः शृण्वन्ति कथयन्ति च।

तपन्ति विविधास्तापा नैतान्मद्गतचेतसः ॥२३॥

Such a sadhu engages in staunch devotional service
to Me without deviation. For My sake he
renounces all other connections, such as family relationships and friendly acquaintances
within the world. Engaged constantly in
chanting and hearing about Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sadhus
do not suffer from material miseries because they are always filled with
thoughts of My pastimes and activities.

स एते साधवः साध्वि सर्वसङ्गविवर्जिताः।

सङ्गस्तेष्वथते प्रार्थ्यः सङ्गदोषहरा हि ते ॥२४॥

O mother, O virtuous lady, these are the qualities of
great devotees who are free from all attachment. You must seek attachment to such holy men,
for this counteracts the pernicious effects of material attachment.

सतां प्रसङ्गान्मम वीर्यसंविदो

भवन्ति हृत्कर्णरसायनाः कथाः।

तज्जोषणादाश्वपवर्गवर्त्मनि

श्रद्धा रतिर्भक्तिरनुक्रमिष्यति ॥२५॥

In the association of
pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the
heart. By cultivating such knowledge one
gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is
freed, and his attraction becomes fixed.
The real devotion and devotional service begin.

भक्त्या पुमाञ्जातविराग ऐन्द्रियाद्

दृष्टश्रुतान्मद्रचनानुचिन्तया ।

चित्तस्य यत्तो ग्रहणे योगयुक्तो

यतिष्यते ऋजुभिर्योगमार्गैः ॥२६॥

Thus consciously engaged
in devotional service in the association of devotees, a person gains distaste
for sense gratification, both in this world and in the next, by constantly
thinking about the activities of the Lord.
This process of Krishna consciousness is the easiest process of mystic
power; when one is actually situated on that path of devotional service, he is
able to control the mind.

असेवयायं प्रकृतेर्गुणानां

ज्ञानेन वैराग्यविजृम्भितेन।

योगेन मय्यर्पितया च भक्त्या

मां प्रत्यगात्मानमिहावरुन्धे ॥२७॥

Thus by not engaging in
the service of the modes of material nature but by developing Krishna
consciousness, knowledge in renunciation, and by practicing yoga, in which the
mind is always fixed in devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, one achieves My association in this very life, for I am the Supreme
Personality, the Absolute Truth.

देवहूतिरुवाच-

काचित्त्वय्युचिता भक्तिः कीदृशी मम गोचरा।

यया पदं ते निर्वाणमञ्जसान्वाश्नवा अहम्॥२८॥

On hearing the statement
of the Lord, Devahuti inquired: What kind of devotional service is worth developing
and practicing to help me easily and immediately attain the service of Your
lotus feet?

यो योगो भगवद्बाणो निर्वाणात्मंस्त्वयोदितः।

कीदृशः कति चाङ्गानि यतस्तत्त्वावबोधनम् ॥२९॥

The mystic yoga system,
as You have explained, aims at the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is
meant for completely ending material existence. Please let me know the nature of that yoga
system. How many ways are there by which
one can understand in truth that sublime yoga?

तदेतन्मे विजानाहि यथाहं मन्दधीर्हरे।

सुखं बुध्येय दुर्भोधं योषा भवदनुग्रहात् ॥३०॥

My dear son, Kapila,
after all, I am a woman, It is very
difficult for me to understand the Absolute Truth because my intelligence is
not very great. But if You will kindly
explain it to me, even though I am not very intelligent, I can understand it
and thereby feel transcendental
happiness.

मैत्रेय उवाच-

विदित्वार्थं कपिलो मातुरित्थं

जातस्नेहो यत्र
तन्वाभिजातः।

तत्त्वाम्नायं यत्प्रवदन्ति सांख्यं

प्रोवाच वै भक्तिवितानयोगम्॥३१॥

Sri Maitreya said: After hearing the statement of His mother,
Kapila could understand her purpose, and He became compassionate towards her
because of being born of her body. He
described the Sankhya system of philosophy, which is a combination of
devotional service and mystic realization, as received by disciplic succession.

श्रीभगवानुवाच-

देवानां गुणलिङ्गानामानुश्रविककर्मणाम्।

सत्त्व एवैकमनसो वृत्तिः स्वाभाविकी तु या॥३२॥

अनिमित्ता भागवती
भक्तिः सिद्धेर्गरीयसी ।

जरयत्याशु या कोशं निगीर्णमनलो यथा ॥३३॥

Lord Kapila said: The senses are symbolic representations of
the demigods, and their natural inclination is to work under the direction of
the Vedic injunctions As the senses are the representatives of the demigods, so
the mind is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The mind’s natural duty is to serve. When
that service spirit is engaged in devotional service to the Personality
of Godhead, without any motive, that is far better even than salvation. Bhakti, devotional service, dissolves the
subtle body of the living entity without separate effort, just as fire in the stomach digests all that
we eat.

नैकात्मतां मे स्पृहयन्ति केचि-

न्मत्पादसेवाभिरता
मदीहाः।

येऽन्योन्यतो भागवताः प्रसज्य

सभाजयन्ते मम पौरुषाणि
॥३४॥

A pure devotee, who is
attached to the activities of devotional service and who always engages in the
service of My lotus feet, never desires to become one with Me. Such a devotee, who is unflinchingly engaged,
in association with similar devotees, always glorifies My pastimes and activities.

पश्यन्ति ते मे रुचिराण्यम्ब सन्तः

प्रसन्नवक्त्रारुणलोचनानि।

रूपाणि दिव्यानि
वरप्रदानि

साकं वाचं स्पृहणीयां
वदन्ति ॥३५॥

O My mother, My devotees always see the smiling face of My
form, with eyes like the rising morning sun.
They like to see My various transcendental forms, which are all
benevolent, and they also talk favourably with Me.

तैर्दर्शनीयावयवैरुदार-

विलासहासेक्षितवामसूक्तैः।

हृतात्मनो हृतप्राणांश्च भक्ति-

रनिच्छतो मे गतिमण्वीं
प्रयुङ्क्ते॥३६॥

Upon seeing the charming
forms of the Lord, smiling and attractive, and hearing His very pleasing words,
the pure devotee almost loses all other consciousness. His senses are freed from all other
engagements, and he becomes absorbed in devotional service. Thus in spite of his unwillingness, he
attains liberation without separate endeavour.

अथो विभूतिं मम मायाविनस्ता-

मैश्वर्यमष्टाङ्गमनुप्रवृत्तम्।

श्रियं भागवतीं वाऽस्पृहयन्ति भद्रां

परस्य मे तेऽश्नुवते
तु लोके ॥३७॥

Thus because he is
completely absorbed in thought of Me, the devotee does not desire even the
highest benediction obtainable in the upper planetary systems, including
Satyaloka. He does not desire the eight
material perfections obtained from mystic yoga, nor does he desire to be
elevated to the kingdom of God. Yet even
without desiring them, the devotee enjoys, even in this life, all the offered
benedictions.

न कर्हिचिन्मत्पराः शान्तरूपे

नङ्क्ष्यन्ति नो
मेऽनिमिषो लेढि हेतिः।

येषामहं प्रिय आत्मा सुतश्च

सखा गुरुः सुहृदो
दैवमिष्टम् ॥३८॥

The Lord continued: My
dear mother, devotees who receive such transcendental opulences are never
bereft of them; neither weapons nor the change of time can destroy such
opulences. Because the devotees accept me as their friend, their relative,
their son, preceptor, benefactor and Supreme Deity, they cannot be deprived of
their possessions at any time

इमं लोकं तथैवामुमात्मानमुभयायिनम्।

आत्मानमनु ये चेह् ये रायः पशवो गृहाः॥३९॥

विसृज्य सर्वानन्यांश्च मामेवं विश्वतोमुखम्।

भजन्त्यनन्यया भक्त्या तान्मृत्योरतिपारये ॥४०॥

Thus the devotee who
worships Me, the all-pervading Lord of the universe, in unflinching devotional
service, gives up all aspirations to be promoted to heavenly planets or to
become happy in this world with wealth, children, cattle, home or anything in
relationship with the body. I take him
to the other side of birth and death.

नान्यत्र मद्भगवतः प्रधानपुरुषेश्वरात्।

आत्मनः सर्वभूतानां भयं तीव्रं निवर्तते ॥४१॥

The terrible fear of
birth and death can never be forsaken by anyone who resorts to any shelter
other than Myself, for I am the almighty Lord, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, the original source of all creation, and also the Supreme Soul of all
souls.

मद्भयाद्वाति वातोऽयं सूर्यस्तपति मद्भयात्।

वर्षतीन्द्रो दहत्यग्निर्मृत्युश्चरति मद्भयात् ॥४२॥

It is because of My
supremacy that the wind blows, out of fear of Me; the sun shines out of fear of
Me, and the lord of the clouds, Indra, sends forth showers out of fear of
Me. Fire burns out of fear of Me, and
death goes about taking its toll out of fear of Me.

ज्ञानवैराग्ययुक्तेन भक्तियोगेन योगिनः।

क्षेमाय पादमूलं मे प्रविशन्त्यकुतोभयम्॥४३॥

The Yogis, equipped with transcendental
knowledge and renunciation and engaged in devotional service for their eternal
benefit, take shelter of My lotus feet, and since I am the Lord, they are thus
eligible to enter into the kingdom of Godhead without fear.

एतावानेव लोकेऽस्मिन् पुंसां निःश्रेयसोदयः।

तीव्रेण भक्तियोगेन मनो मय्यर्पितं स्थिरम् ॥४४॥

Therefore persons whose
minds are fixed on the Lord engage in the intensive practice of devotional
service. That is the only means for
attainment of the final perfection of life.